Tracey Emin, The Perfect Place to Grow, 2001, wooden shed and trestle, plants, with a single monitor, super-8 film transferred to colour video, audio track, 2 minutes looped, 261 × 83 × 162 cm installation. (© The artist. Courtesy Jay Jopling/White Cube, London. Photo: Stephen White.)
Activity 1 - Looking at Works of Art
Look at the following works and make some notes for each one in response to the following questions.
Do you like it?
Yes.
How does it make you feel?
From the photo, I felt a bit bored by the piece. Uninspired. But curious to know more - I want to see it in the round. I want to see what’s playing on this monitor, for example.
Is it art? Briefly explain the reasons for your answer.
This is art. But, I wish I could see the videos that play inside wooden shed. A search online came up with nothing but THE TATE website had a rich description of the imagery and sounds featured in the installation. Which makes me consider my answer to question one. My initial response from the photo alone was no, I don’t like this. But in reading more about it, and seeing photos of patrons on the ladder looking into the shed to see the video and hear the audio, had me wanting to interact with the installation. One description even said a full water bucket was kept with the plants, so people could water them - and indeed you can see the dark green pitcher sitting there. The interactivity makes the piece feel performative - a viewer has to work their way around the piece to get the full effect of it.
Don't spend more than a minute or two responding to each question. Questions 1 and 3 require a simple ‘yes' or ‘no’ answer and some brief explanation for question 3. For question 2 you could record your immediate feelings about the works represented, using one word answers (for example ‘happy’ or ‘confused’) rather than complete sentences.
Unit 3: Activity 4 - Recording Your Feelings
First Impressions: rugged, farmhouse, land, taming the land by potting the plants. Wooden construction - older sensibilities, craftsmanship, generational gaps. Why is the shed high up and accessible by ladder? What is its representation? Why a wooden saw horse, isn’t that used in carpentry? These questions leave me feeling confused, uneasy, as I don’t immediately understand or get what is happening here. Not being able to observe the audio video playing is also leading to the confusion, I feel robbed of an experience (although with some pieces, like many performance art works, all that exists of it are photos in which sound and moving visuals are left to the imagination). Should that lack of being able to experience all of a piece impact how one feels about it?